Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 13;1(10):e0000025.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000025. eCollection 2021.

Mobile health intervention for promotion of eye health literacy

Indra Prasad Sharma  1   2 , Monica Chaudhry  2 , Dhanapati Sharma  3 , Raju Kaiti  4
Affiliations

Mobile health intervention for promotion of eye health literacy

Indra Prasad Sharma et al. PLOS Glob Public Health. .

Abstract

Purpose: Improving eye health awareness in the underserved population is a universal eye health priority. The ubiquity of cell phones and internet usage provides new and innovative opportunities for health promotion. This study evaluated the effect of mobile health intervention (text message link) to promote eye health literacy (EHL) of priority ocular morbidities.

Methods: This study was an intervention evaluation and employed a two-armed pre-test post-test approach. Baseline assessment on EHL was performed on 424 university students. Participants were categorised into intervention and control groups, using the 1:1 allocation ratio. The intervention and control group received a text message alone and text message with a link, respectively. EHL was assessed via a self-administered questionnaire. The primary outcome measures were changes in EHL scores between baseline and one month post-intervention. Descriptive analysis was performed to assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.

Results: With low attrition and a response rate of 95.6%, 409 responses were eligible for analysis. The mean age of the participants (49.4% males and 50.6% of females) was 19.9±1.68 years. Baseline EHL scores were low, and there was no correlation with a demographic profile (all p<0.05, CI 95%). The demographic characteristics were similar between the two groups (for all, P <0.05, CI 95%) at baseline. The EHL scores improved in both groups between the pre-and post-test assessment; however, improvements were statistically significant only in the control group. The one-month post-intervention EHL scores were also higher in the intervention group compared to the control (p≤0.001, CI 95% for all). The total cost incurred for the intervention used was 11.5 USD.

Conclusion: Text message link demonstrated effectiveness for improving the EHL scores; the low baseline EHL scores substantially improved with intervention. The text message link intervention is a cost-effective method and could be considered in advocating for eye health in developing countries, particularly during global emergencies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Tailored text message for intervention and control group.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The participant flow from enrollment through analysis.
Fig 3
Fig 3. The baseline EHL scores of the study participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. GBD, Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Causes of blindness and vision impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to VISION 2020: the Right to Sight: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet Glob Health. 2020;2020(December 1):S2214–S109X. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30489-7 . - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jaggernath J, Øverland L, Ramson P, Kovai V, Chan VF, Naidoo KS. Poverty and eye health. Health. 2014;06(14):1849–1860.
    1. Eckert KA, Carter MJ, Lansingh VC, Wilson DA, Furtado JM, Frick KD, et al.. A Simple Method for Estimating the Economic Cost of Productivity Loss Due to Blindness and Moderate to Severe Visual Impairment. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2015;22(5):349–55. doi: 10.3109/09286586.2015.1066394 - DOI - PubMed
    1. GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators; Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Trends in prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment over 30 years: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet Glob Health. 2020. Dec 1:S2214-109X(20)30425-3. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30425-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flaxman SR, Bourne RRA, Resnikoff S, Ackland P, Braithwaite T, Cicinelli MV, et al..; Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2017. Dec;5(12):e1221–e1234. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30393-5 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources